Step 1

Pour all the milk into a pot on the stovetop, and warm the milk slowly on medium heat until it reaches approximately 120°F. If you do not have a food safe thermometer, the milk should be quite warm to the touch.

Step 2

One the milk reaches the approximate temperature, remove it from the heat, and gently pour in the vinegar (or lemon juice, if using).

Step 3

Stir the milk and vinegar together gently for a minute to two to make sure that the vinegar is well distributed throughout the milk.

Step 4

Cover the pot and allow it to rest for 30 minutes.

Step 5

After 30 minutes, the milk should have curdled significantly, and the liquid surrounding the curds should be a pale yellow. If the liquid still looks like a white milk color, add an additional 1/4 cup of vinegar and stir gently. More curds should form, and the liquid should turn a pale yellow.

Step 6

Line a colander or mesh strainer with the cheesecloth or flour sack towel, and place over a bowel. Pour the contents of the pot into the lined colander. The yellow liquid, which is whey, will strain through, and you should be left with curds in the cheesecloth or flour sack towel. Allow the curds to strain for 5 to 10 minutes.

Step 7

You now have cottage cheese. The gallon of milk should yield you approximately 2 cups of cottage cheese. You can refrigerate the cheese as is, and it will stay fresh in your refrigerator for 5-7 days. If you wish, you can add approximately a quarter cup of heavy cream, and salt to taste, to the 2 cups of curds to give the cottage cheese a texture more similar to what you can find at the grocery store.